If I start reading writing by British people, I can’t really tell it’s any different. If the publisher is American, then the spelling and some usage has been Americanized. However, if I read an extended tract (i.e. whole book) written by a British person, then following along becomes torturous. It’s not that I don’t understand it, of course, but sometimes I have to reread.
I’ve written books by the following British people who are hard to follow: N. T. Wright, Simon Conway Morris, and Margaret Barker.
The only British person whose writing I’ve found to be an easy read is Richard Dawkins. Blind Watchmaker and Selfish Gene just flowed.
I thought you were going to mention Joseph Conrad (Polish-British). I only read one of his works and vowed never again. His rambling page-length paragraphs and random placement of adjectives were just two aspects of his writing style that turned me off.
I was gonna just say he was Irish, but then I had a look at some stuff in Wikipedia.
Joyce was born in Ireland when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. I think he lived the latter part of his life in the Irish Free State, which I think still had some connections to Great Britain. According to Wikipedia, Ireland didn’t become a full republic until 1949. Joyce died in 1941.
I think, though, that regardless of official/political designations, Joyce was considered an Irish writer. I certainly think of him as Irish.
I’ve written elsewhere on the board about my frustrating experiences with Ulysses, the last (roughly) one third of which I never finished, in spite of two attempts.
The only book of his that I’ve read all the way through is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which is not a very long book. But from what little I remember of it, even that not-very-long book was a little bit of a challenge.
Portrait of the Artist starts this way:
And it ends this way:
As far as I know, Joyce invented the word quark, but not, as far as I can tell, in the context of physics.
He lived in London for a spell, and wrote Ulysses there. My dear departed friend Mike took me there when we were young and hashish and backgammon ruled our lives.
Joyce spent most of his adult life in Trieste, no?
I’ve been of no help in determining his nationality, have I?
The OP hasn’t built much of a case, your honour, but the good flobbers of Forumosa are trying their best to light a fire under what little kindling there is.
Maybe Americans tend to like their wine/prose fresh, direct, powerful, punchy, macho; Brits tend to prefer aged, complex, fragile, gentle, sophisticated. You pays yer money…
I guess much of it in Trieste, and much of it in Paris. I don’t think I ever knew about his time in Trieste, or if I did, I forgot it.
The Irish Times says he went to Trieste at age 22 and lived there for eleven years, but had to leave because of World War I (he had a British passport).1 Hey, now, Wikipedia says he did time as an Engish teacher in Trieste!2
I only glanced at the Wikipedia article, but it seems to place Joyce in Rome, Trieste, Dublin,3 Zürich,4 and Paris5 at various times. Somewhat confusing.
The New York Times says he spent 20 years in Paris.6
